Life is Better With Flowers
Sorry it's been so long; I've missed you ;-) A week ago Friday night, I had some pain in my right jaw. It turned much worse just 24 hours later and I was in tears from the pain. I got in to see my dentist on Monday at 12:30pm and she confirmed a bad infection that had gotten down between the root. She gave me an antibiotic and some pain meds and referred me to the endodontist. I went there Wednesday and he said he could retreat, but there's bone loss now and I'd probably have to pull it anyway. Another referral to a surgeon so they can cut it out. By this past Friday, the swelling and heat in my cheek was mostly gone and I felt a ton better. Just in time for treatment thankfully. That would have sucked to be dealing with both at the same time!
Friday morning, Mom picked me up and we headed to the hospital. I thought we were past the whole port debacle since last time went so much better than the first. Unfortunately, my port has tilted somehow. When the first nurse went in, she was angled and tried to move it around some to get access, but couldn't. The other nurse that's typically in there with her felt it, tried and couldn't access either. They called someone else from another department over and they decided to lay me back and see if that helped. They discussed trying to go in through a vein since these were just labs, but chemo has to go through the port so no dice. They called another nurse from leadership and she ended up having the original nurse hold my port flat by pressing on the top of it down while she accessed. Mom tried some serious visualization, but there were tears. Aggravation, pain, anger, and so many other emotions that suck.
Once we got through the 90 minute appointment that was set for 10 minutes, we went upstairs to talk to the oncologist. He says numbers look good and it's full steam ahead. We decided to wait on pulling the tooth since the pain and infection is handled for now. We're going to revisit when I get to the weekly treatments in April. On from there to the infusion center with our warm blankets and friendly nurses. Betty was the nurse this time around and she was a great as the others before her. I really appreciate the nursing staff at St. Francis. They are all very attentive and do everything possible to make it comfortable for all of us. Before we left, they sent me for a chest x-ray to see if the port needed another suture to hold in place and the results in MyChart said the placement is fine. I'm dreading the next port access, but they remember me at the lab so hopefully we'll just start lying down and with two nurses next time.
I stayed awake Saturday for several hours, but slept most of the day yesterday. Today, I'm tired and decided to take the day off except for payroll, but I'm planning on going back in tomorrow. I think I'm getting the hang of getting through the fatigue. Strangely enough, moving around when I'm exhausted is helping so I've been trying to do the treadmill. Yesterday, I only made it 15 minutes, but I figure anything is better than nothing.
We've had all kinds of food in here the last 10 days, which made a HUGE difference in what they would have been eating since I was down with my tooth for a few days. Linda and Charlie came for dinner with veggie soup (my fav!), cornbread and some yummy cherry obglob. Bonus: they brought me pretty flowers at the top. Billy and Jenn brought surf and turf (LOVE coconut shrimp!) and the only carrots my family has ever gotten seconds of. Alec and Maegan brought dinner twice this week - salad and million dollar spaghetti (a favorite in our house) and also chicken rolls like Bre used to make for us when she was a teenager. The kids were excited to see that recipe back in the house again! We were craving chicken pot pie like Cheri and Brooke brought a couple weeks ago and voila! Ruth and Tom brought comfort food for days - chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, and apple dump cake (soooo good!). Staci came by with chicken and dumplings so that's tonight's dinner. We really appreciate everyone so much; you are my village!
TODAY'S SILVER LINING: Since Rocki's been in Florida for the winter, she's been sending me cards with handwritten affirmations. I've successfully covered the right side and above the ice maker already and working on the lower left now. I also added a super cute card Ruthie and Tom brought with dinner over the weekend. I love walking by and reading these when I'm trying to get some movement around the house after treatment. Thanks ladies! <3